BEER AND CHOCOLATE, FEBRUARY 6

San Diego, CA_1/29/2013_Karl Strauss Brewery in Sorrento Mesa is pairing a Creme Brule with their Wreck Alley Stout. John Gastaldo/U-T San Diego/Mandatory Credit: John Gastaldo/U-T San Diego/Zuma Press

San Diego, CA_1/29/2013_Karl Strauss Brewery in Sorrento Mesa is pairing a Creme Brule with their Wreck Alley Stout. John Gastaldo/U-T San Diego/Mandatory Credit: John Gastaldo/U-T San Diego/Zuma Press

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to combine beer and chocolate, but Gunther Emathinger doubts there’s ever a bad time. For Emathinger, the executive chef at the Karl Strauss brewpubs, uniting these two sensuous treats is swooningly romantic. With their rich flavors, this duo can seduce the most demanding palate.

For instance, chef?

“One of my favorites,” he said, “used to be pilsners and peanut M&Ms.”

OK, bad example. While both beer and chocolate can be cheap treats, Emathinger and other chefs note that their high quality counterparts are able to bring a fine meal to a sweet, sophisticated conclusion. Malty ales like Karl Strauss’ Red Trolley have layers of caramel flavors. AleSmith’s Speedway Stout smacks of coffee and cocoa. Lost Abbey’s Framboise de Amorosa has a tart berry fruitiness.

Serving any these with a chocolate dessert? A no-brainer.

That wasn’t always so obvious. Back when most American brews were cheap, light-bodied pilsners — sorry, Gunther — “beer wasn’t perceived to be a food-pairing medium,” said Corey Rapp, regional chef for Karl Strauss. “But now beer has grown up.”

Stout and beyond

Today, in fact, some beer-and-dessert combinations are culinary clichés.

For good reason. Stout and chocolate go together like Romeo and Juliet, minus all the bodies that clutter up the fifth act. Katherine Humphus, executive chef at Ocean Beach’s Bo-Beau, hasn’t heard anyone complain about her chocolate and stout pot de crème.

“It’s the perfect nightcap, a little beer and a little chocolate,” she said. “Chocolate is one of my favorite things, and Speedway Stout is one of my favorite beers.”

In fact, stout seems to have been invented for dessert. This dark ale is defined by its roasted coffee and chocolate notes. Some varieties — milk stouts, chocolate stouts, imperial stouts made extra-creamy when dispensed by nitrogen-powered taps — are almost desserts on their own.

Another feature makes beers compatible with rich cakes and pastries. “Their carbonation,” Karl Strauss’ Rapp said, “tends to lift and extend some of the flavors in the chocolate.”

And with so many distinct beers now available, chefs are being challenged to create unique, complementary dishes. A recent dinner at Burlap featured Stone’s Vertical Epic ales, a series of Belgian-inspired brews. King was asked to make a dessert to accompany Vertical Epic 11/11/11, a Belgian-style porter with chocolate malt, vanilla bean and tangerine peel. Her response: chocolate custard with passion fruit and vanilla croquante, a crunchy cake.

“The acid from the passion fruit definitely played off the citrus in the beer,” she said, “and, of course, the chocolate played off the beer’s malts.”